Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Up 9.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 9.7% to $1.64 Wednesday — a move tied to news flow around its lead drug imetelstat — with mid-day volume of ~5.11M shares, about 68% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with a $2.17 average price target, and coverage is mixed (roughly 2 Buy, 3 Hold, 2 Sell ratings).
• Geron remains unprofitable after reporting a $0.05 loss per share (missed the $0.03 estimate) and $48.02M in revenue (below $50.43M expected); the company has a ~$1.05B market cap and is progressing imetelstat through Phase II/III trials for hematologic malignancies.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 9.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.64 and last traded at $1.6350. Approximately 5,114,463 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 16,010,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.17.

Geron Trading Up 9.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 3.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.38.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Geron had a negative return on equity of 28.86% and a negative net margin of 46.65%.The business had revenue of $48.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.43 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GERN. 55 North Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Geron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Geron by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Geron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Geron by 3,307.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Geron by 73.6% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 11,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.71% of the company's stock.

Geron Company Profile

Geron Corporation NASDAQ: GERN is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel treatments that target telomerase, an enzyme critical to cancer cell immortality. The company's research is focused on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, with a pipeline designed to address diseases that have historically had limited therapeutic options.

The lead product candidate, imetelstat, is a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor currently in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for myelofibrosis and myelodysplastic syndromes.

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